Friends Close, Enemies Closer
by XxSnapexX
Summary: Ginny is sleeping less and less, and the only thing she can do about it is to simply deal. When it gets out of hand, she turns to someone who she knows has the answers. But is he willing to help? DG


Title: Friends Close, Enemies Closer

Rating: R, just to be safe with later chapters

Summary: Ginny is sleeping less and less, and the only thing she can do about it is to simply deal. When it gets out of hand, she turns to someone who she knows has the answers. But is he willing to help? D/G

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own any of the characters and such. I just play with them a little .

CHAPTER 1

The Littlest Weasley

The smoke billowed from the stack of the Hogwart's Express train as it entered King's Cross station. Hundreds of students swarmed around Platform 9 3/4, saying their good-byes to relatives and meeting up with friends they missed over the summer break. The Weasley's were all standing in a group beside the tracks, making sure they had everything they needed for their coming year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and Hermione Granger, the cleverest girl in their year were there with them also. Them and Ron Weasley were entering their sixth year at Hogwart's, and Ginny, the littlest Weasley, was going to be in her fifth year.

She had changed much since she'd first walked onto the train 5 years ago. Her hair had become long, hanging to her lower back, and was a deep crimson color, like her mother's. Her caramel colored eyes searched the crowds for Luna Lovegood, hoping to sit with her on the train. In the middle of her search, her mother grabbed her and hugged her tightly and kissed her head multiple times.

"Have a good year, dear, and write often. I'll be seeing you for Christmas. Now, you better get on the train before it leaves without you!" Molly said, being the over-worried mother that she was. Ginny smiled and returned the hug and then turned to board the train. She walked up and down the corridors until she found where Luna was sitting, with Neville Longbottom. The three of them had become close since they had entered the Ministry of Magic last year and fought against Death Eaters hell-bent on retrieving a prophecy about Harry and Lord Voldemort. Ginny sat down and smiled at the pair.

"Oh, hello Ginny, I hope you've had a Jumbarkle free summer." Said Luna dreamily, looking at her with wide starry eyes. Before Ginny could answer, Neville did for her.

"Luna, Jumbarkles became extinct 5000 years ago." He said, attempting to hold back a grin and winked at Ginny.

"Not necessarily true, there's been reports coming into my father's office day and night from Africa, he's going to be publishing them in the next issue." She replied with a superior look on her face. Ginny smiled at them again and looked out of the window, the train had just begun to move, and already Ginny was wishing she were home. She wasn't as fond of Hogwart's as she used to be, seeing as the only friend she had in the house was Neville, and he was nice and all, but he became over-bearing quite quickly. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes, imagining she was lying on her bed back at the Burrow and listening to the Weird Sisters. It's not that she wasn't looking forward to classes or anything, she just seemed to not care about much anymore.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Neville's concerned voice broke through her thoughts. She shook herself out of it and nodded wearily back at him.

"Yeah, I just haven't gotten much sleep again." Ginny answered. Both Luna and Neville knew of Ginny's incessant insomnia and they both nodded understandingly.

"Well I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can give you Dreamless Sleep potion again, but this time, don't take it all at once like last time." Luna put in, remembering how Ginny had slept for three days afterwards.

"I won't, I promise. But I've been getting sleeping potions all summer, and none of them have been doing me any good. Still have the dreams." She said back and turned to face the door, shutting her eyes again. Taking that as the end of the conversation, Luna proceeded to read The Quibbler and Neville was reading his newest book, 'Jungle Plants; Dangerous or Life-saving?' Ginny's reoccurring nightmare haunted her to the point where she couldn't sleep for fear of returning to it.

Her experience with Tom Riddle in her first year had changed her life forever. He had used her to get to Harry Potter, the boy she had an enormous crush on, and she had nearly gotten him killed. But thankfully Harry cared enough about her to go into the Chamber of Secrets, defeat Riddle, and took her out of there. But the thought that as always on her mind was 'What if I had died down there?' She figured that if she did, her parents would be devastated, her brothers would be out for blood, and Harry would be sad, but not as sad as she once hoped he'd be. She had gotten over him a little while ago, and talking with him was so much easier afterwards.

Someone opened the door to their compartment and walked in. Ginny looked up and saw long white blond hair and piercing gray eyes. She sneered at him for his intrusion, but she did notice he was alone, which was a rare occasion.

"Oh, it's you freaks. Longbottom, I trust you haven't blown anything up this holiday?" Draco Malfoy scoffed, his upper lip curling. Choosing to ignore the comment, Neville turned to Luna, who was looking at Draco with wonder.

"I do hope you have a good explanation for barging in here Malfoy, because we would rather not have you in our presence, so just leave." Ginny said, sitting up straight, her eyes burning holes into his. He looked shocked for a moment but then recovered quickly. Without a word, he turned and left, closing the door harder than was necessary behind him. Neville looked at Ginny with a mixed expression of surprise and awe.

"Gods, Gin, since when were you so poisonous?" He asked, trying to hide a grin. She smiled back at him and shrugged,

"I'm just sick of him thinking he owns everything he touches. He's not someone to be scared of, so why should I be?" She responded with an indignant look at the door, as if he were still there. Letting the conversation go at that, they all continued about their business until the train was about to pull into Hogsmeade station. They quickly pulled on their robes and got their things together so they could get off the train as soon as possible. As soon as the train stopped, the three of them stood and walked out of their compartment and towards the exit of the train. Being bumped and prodded wasn't the most comfortable experience in the world, so it was a great relief when Ginny's feet touched the ground. She breathed the crisp night air deeply before setting off towards the Thestral-drawn carriages with Luna and Neville in tow. She vaguely saw the shimmering hair of Draco Malfoy a few yards ahead, but ignored the burning sensation to send a big bat-bogey hex his way. She followed Luna into one of the carriages and Neville followed her. There was no conversation, as they were all eager to reach the castle, for different reasons. Neville was eyeing the huge ornate doors to the castle with a hungry eye, and it didn't take Ginny long to notice that he was practically salivating.

"Neville, why are you so excited?" she asked, speaking for the first time since Malfoy had entered their compartment on the train. Shocked to be caught, Neville blushed sheepishly.

"I didn't see Parvati at the station, so I have to meet her by the front doors." He said quietly, as if hoping he wouldn't be understood. Ginny and Luna stared at him with slack jawed expressions on their faces. A big grin soon creeped onto Ginny's visage and she hit his arm lightly.

"Good going Neville, when did this start? Over the summer?" She asked brightly. After all, Neville's been her friend for a really long time, and it was about time he had found someone to make him happy. Well, someone that wasn't her. He used to have a huge crush on her, and she knew it, but she only liked him as a friend. Most guys she's gone out with haven't had the thing she was looking for, not that she knew what it was they were lacking. She figured she'd know when she saw it.

"Yeah, I sent her an owl, and one thing turned into another." He said, keeping his responses short so as not to provoke any more questions.

"Well Neville, that's really good, I'm happy for you." Luna said briskly with a smile and she then opened the carriage door and stepped onto the ground. Neville turned even redder and he descended as well. Ginny got out last and followed the huge crowd that was entering the doors. They all swarmed into the Great Hall, looking up at the ceiling to see the shimmering stars overhead. The group dissipated as all the students went to their separate house tables, although a few stragglers were greeting others from different houses. Ginny and Neville headed toward the Gryffindor table while Luna walked over to Ravenclaw's table. Sitting next to Neville, she soon saw the Golden Trio sit down a little ways from them, Hermione waving to her. Waving back, Ginny turned her attention towards the front of the room. The usual professors were up there, but there was an empty seat where the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher usually sat. Wondering vaguely who it would be this year, she saw Professor McGonagall place a rickety wooden stool in front of the teacher's table with a torn up hat atop of it. A rip near the brim opened up and began to speak.

_I come out here every year to be greeted with old and new faces,_

_As I have for many, many years._

_I show all the new ones where their place is,_

_By way of whispering in their ears._

_Gryffindors are the noblest breed,_

_Ravenclaw is the home of those who are quick._

_Slytherins choose by the pureblooded creed,_

_Hufflepuff holds the rest of the pick._

_Before I am put onto any head,_

_There is much that I must say._

_The world is filled with dread,_

_For the darkness that is coming our way._

_We must unite for the common cause,_

_For together there is nothing to fear._

_I'm not the one who makes the laws,_

_And I know sometimes I am quite queer._

_Gryffindor took me off his head for a purpose_

_Which was to help students see what must be done._

_So do not judge by what's on the surface,_

_And join together as one._

_Now you may place me around your ears,_

_And allow me to sort through all of you first years!_

And with that said, Professor McGonagall took out a long piece of parchment and looked at the first years that were lined up against the far wall. As she began to recite the names, the line grew smaller and smaller until little Avery Zuxon (SLYTHERIN!) sat down at his table. Professor McGonagall picked up the chair and placed it off to the side before taking her seat next to Albus Dumbledore. He rose with open arms in robes of glistening violet adorned with silver stars. The room stopped it's clapping and looked at the headmaster expectantly.

"Welcome first years, to our most cherished school. And welcome back to all of the rest of you. I know this year will be hard on most, what with the coming war. I trust that you have all received pamphlets on home security and such, and have gone over them well. As most of you know, the Forbidden Forest remains just that, forbidden. And our caretaker, Mr. Filch has yet again posted a list of objects that aren't allowed on the premises. And may I take this time to introduce to you, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Miss Nymphadora Tonks!" his voice echoed throughout the hall, and the students began to clap and whisper to each other as a witch walked through a door from behind the teacher's table and bowed to the crowd before sitting down herself. Her shockingly pink hair stood out against her deep blue robes, and she spotted Ginny and winked. Ginny smiled widely before turning her attention back onto the headmaster, who patiently waited for the noise to die down.

"Now that all of that excitement is over, it's time to tuck in!" and with that, he sat down with a huge smile on his face and placed a napkin underneath his chin. Food began to fill all of the plates on the tables, and chatter started immediately. Ginny scooped some mashed potatoes, roast beef, and corn bread onto her plate and she began to pick at it while looking around the room. All of a sudden, she felt a slight breeze blow past her and she looked around to see the face (well, through it anyway) of the Gryffindor house ghosts, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, better known as Nearly Headless Nick.

"Oh, hello Sir Nicholas, how was your summer?" She asked him, smiling, still picking at her food.

"It was just as to be expected, which was quite dull in fact. I haven't even bothered to try and enter the Headless Hunt this season. I doubt they'd let someone nearly headless enter in a million decades." He replied with somewhat of a sad tone in his voice before leaving to go talk to The Fat Friar. Ginny started to try to eat her food again when she felt like someone was watching her. She looked casually around the Gryffindor table and saw no one taking notice of her. She shrugged it off and then saw those silvery locks hiding the cold eyes of steel looking at her from across the room. Who did he think he was anyway? Hadn't she already told him to leave her alone? Before she could get herself worked up, the plates had cleared and they were all being told to head up to their houses. She didn't realize so much time had passed, but she wasn't feeling that hungry anyway. Nor was she tired.

"Ginny, are you alright?" Neville's voice drifted from behind her. She had barely realized he was there, and she blushed scarlet.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just feeling a little tired I suppose." She said, lying through her teeth. Neville nodded and walked next to her the whole time to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione and Ron were up front, being prefects and all, and said the password, which was "Pepper Imps". The Fat Lady swung open to admit them entrance, and they all filed into the common room. Most of them walked up to their dorms and went to sleep right away, but a select few still hung around the fire to catch up with their friends. Neville gave Ginny a quick hug before heading up the staircase to the boy's dormitories. She smiled and sat in a chair on the far side of the room and simply watched the fire.

The fire was nearly out by the time that she had noticed the room was empty. Wondering what time it was, Ginny headed up to her dorm and sat on her bed for a few minutes. She couldn't sleep, she knew that, but what could she do? With a sigh, she hopped off her bed lightly and searched through her trunk for a small wooden box. She finally found it at the bottom and pulled it out. In it was a little vial of dreamless sleep potion she had left over from the summer. She lay in bed and got underneath the covers, downed the bottle, and fell into a restless sleep.

Draco sat at the Slytherin table flanked by his usual cronies, who he paid no attention to. Pansy had her arm draped casually across his shoulders, in which he had to keep forcibly moving off of him. She would pout and a few minutes later try again, but he would have none of it. His eyes scanned the students and finally rested on Ginny Weasley. Weaslette had certainly grown this past holiday, that much was evident. But not only physically, she grew a brain too. Not many people would stand up to him besides the Golden Trio. He had also noticed that she was sitting by herself, and feigning eating small bites of her food. The Golden Trio sat down the Gryffindor table a little down the row and seemed oblivious to all but themselves. Typical, Draco thought. Ginny's long red locks dripped down in ringlets encircling her face, her darkened eyes hiding something from the world. He was curious, for no one had intrigued him so before. Wait, what was he thinking about! This was a Weasley, a dirt-poor muggle lover related to that idiot she called a brother! But he couldn't draw his eyes away from her. At last she looked up and saw him watching her, and she sneered at him before pushing her plate aside and left the table along with the other Gryffindors. Looking down, he realized that he had barely eaten as well. He hurriedly took a sip from his pumpkin juice before heading to the front of the Slytherin table to lead the rest of the house to the Slytherin dungeons.

He was Head Boy this year, and he was definitely going to use that to his advantage. Finally, a room to himself without having to deal with those twits Crabb and Goyle. He stole a last glance at the littlest Weasley as they exited the Great Hall and then headed down the many stairs to their quarters. Being told the password on the train (Parseltongue), he repeated it and stepped into the Slytherin common room. The cold stone floors were dusty and the air around him felt heavy with moisture. The rest of the house went to their respective dorms and he stayed in the common room in front of the fireplace.

His summer had been spent all over Europe, hiding from the Dark Lord who was after him and his mother. His mother was currently hiding with a distant cousin in Italy, hopefully safe where she is. He sat there staring at the flames, letting his thoughts wander to all of the times they had nearly been quite by various Death Eaters. They blamed him for Lucius' capture by the Ministry and the Dark Lord wanted to recruit him into his ranks, so they followed him all over the continent with no success. The Dark Lord knew that Draco didn't wish to be a part of his plans, but regardless, Lord Voldemort knew he was a valuable asset to have. All Draco could do was run.

When the last ember had burned out and the room had grown dark, he rubbed his temples, willing his headache to go away. He stood and found where his new room was located, and was stopped by a portrait of a twisting serpent. He realized he had to give the serpent a new password, and his mind had gone blank. Because he couldn't think of anything else, he said "Feathery Wings". The snake sort of nodded and swung the portrait open to allow Draco entrance. He walked in and was pleased with what he saw. He had a gigantic room decorated in silver, green, and black. His bed was ebony wood with a huge canopy and curtains of silver silk around it. Yes, he could live quite comfortably here. He undressed out of his robes and crawled into his new bed and laid there for hours with his eyes closed, waiting for sleep to claim him. It never did, and he sighed.

The morning had finally come and Draco had an excuse to get out of bed. He knew it was still early for breakfast, but he sat up and got his robes on anyway. Maybe he could eat in peace without Pansy fawning all over him. He headed to the Great Hall and as he walked in, he looked around. Not many people were around, but he did notice that Pansy was there. He rolled his eyes and went to take a seat at the Slytherin table.

"Good morning Draco! I hope you slept well. I did, I had this most spectacular dream! You and I were in a meadow of the prettiest flowers…" Pansy began, and this was around the point where Draco ceased to listen. He poked at his breakfast plate with a less than eager eye when she walked in. Ginny's eyes were full of fury as she stomped to the Gryffindor table and sat down. He tried to make it look like he was paying attention to what Pansy was droning on about, but he kept stealing glances in Ginny's direction. She was apparently to angry to even eat, so she just sat there and glowered at everyone else in the room. Her eyes locked with his and she looked shocked for a moment, and then her face reverted to murderous. She gave him a withering death glare before turning in the other direction. Who did she think she was, doing that to him? That little weasel better get her head on straight. Draco's thoughts ran along those lines for a while before Pansy looked at him and pouted.

"Huh, what?" he asked her and she sighed and her eyes grew teary. He gave up trying to humor her and returned to his plate. Other people began to file into the room now, taking their seats at the appropriate table and chattering loudly. Heads of houses were now handing out class schedules to all the students and Draco was relieved to have something to do other than to hear Pansy whine. He had Herbology for his first class, naturally, with the Gryffindors. He sighed and shoved the paper into his satchel and glimpsed at the fiery redhead again. Her eyes were turned to Harry Potter and the rest of his gang and she looked ready to kill. He wondered fleetingly what had made her so mad, and then shrugged it off as the bell rung for the first class of the day. Besides, he didn't really care, did he?

The sun shone through the window to reveal a wide-awake Ginny. The Dreamless Sleep potion seems to be lasting only a few hours now. Sighing, she sat up and stretched her aching limbs. She couldn't continue to do this for much longer; soon she'd be a walking zombie. She changed into her robes slowly and then headed down the stairs to the common room. Only Harry was in there at the moment, which was no wonder, seeing as it was the crack of dawn, but why he was there was a mystery. She smiled at him and took a seat near the fireplace, a little ways away from him.

"G'Morning Gin, how'd you sleep?" He asked her, looking a little more than enthusiastic. Wondering how someone could be so awake in the morning, Ginny shrugged noncommittally and yawned. Damn her brain for needing air!

"It could've been better. So what are you awake so early for? Surely not because you're excited over the first day of school." She joked and looked at the somber look on his face.

"Well, er, to talk to you actually…" Harry replied quietly, trying to gauge her expression. Her eyebrows raised a bit, but that was as much emotion as she would show. So Harry carried on. "You see, I've been thinking a lot lately this past summer, and I… Well, I think that I'd like to er… take you to Hogsmeade sometime?" He said quickly, and then turned beet red. Her eyes grew wary.

"You've never been interested before, why start now?" She inquired, and he turned even redder. He looked around the room as if looking to see if someone was around, which they both knew there wasn't.

"Well… the truth is that Ron thought it'd be a good idea because Cho has a new boyfriend and I was hoping that you'd help…" and that was all the Harry could say before Ginny stood up and slapped him across the face.

"How dare you! Where the bloody hell is Ron? I need to give him what he deserves too." She shouted before running up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She saw Ron fast asleep in his bed, a drool puddle soaking his pillow. She jumped on the bed and kicked him in the side so hard that he rolled off and hit the floor with a loud thud."

"Ron, you slimy bastard! You thought I'd be Harry's little lap dog just because I used to have a crush on him? Did you ever think about my feelings with this!" and with that she hopped off and stormed out of the dorms. She ran up to her room, grabbed her book bag, and then stomped out of the common room. Her hands were clenched into fists all the way to the Great Hall and she kept swatting her long hair out of her face. She walked in and sat at the table glaring at everyone in sight. How could they think that they could take advantage of her like that? The nerve of them! She looked down at her plate and began stabbing at her eggs, imagining each one to be Harry and Ron. When they walked in with Hermione, she determinedly looked away and saw Draco was looking at her again. What was with him? Does everyone just enjoy pissing me off? She stared back at him and then looked away again. The trio ignored her, although she saw Hermione do a quick healing spell to get rid of Harry's red cheek and Ron's bruised ribs. Ha, that shows them.

Just then, Professor McGonagall began handing out schedules to the Gryffindors. When she reached Ginny, her eyes widened a bit and then softened.

"I hope you do as well this year as you did last year, Miss Weasley. At this rate, you may be bumped up to advanced classes!" she said excitedly, though sounding more excited than she looked. Ginny took the piece of paper from her and read through it quickly. She had Divination first, so she took advantage of the excuse to leave; she gathered her things and began the journey to the tower.

On the way, she observed the paintings on the walls and stumbled across one she'd never seen before. It depicted a section of the Forbidden Forest and she saw the leaves of the bushes rustle and reveal a thestral family grazing. She smiled at it and then walked the rest of the way to the north tower. She was the first one there, but not long after her, more students began to pour in. When the final bell rang, a door opened up above them and they climbed the ladder into the stifling classroom. It was dim and smoky, and very hot. She sat down at the back table and placed her satchel next to her. She saw Professor Trelawney in the corner adjusting her many scarves and she emerged from the shadows.

"Ah, good morning to you, my dears. Welcome to another year of Divination. I'm sure that you're all prepared to delve into the mysterious subconscious. Now this first unit isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I foresee it being on your exams this year, so we must proceed with it. We will be using meditation to search deep within ourselves to find the real us. Before we begin, however, you will need to read chapters 1 and 2 in your textbooks. So off you go!" she said to the class once they were all seated. She looked a little dazed this morning, and she sat down at her desk across from the students. Everyone got out their books and began to read. Ginny followed suit, because she had heard that meditation was actually good for you, mentally anyway. Maybe it'd help her sleep? She could only hope.

She read for a good half hour before her eyes became heavy and she couldn't concentrate anymore. Before she knew it, the bell rang and it was time to go to her next class. She threw her books into her bag and hurried down the ladder to get to the green houses for Herbology. She ran down the halls, careful not to knock anyone over and then burst out of the front doors. Ginny began walking for a minute so she could catch her breath, and then took off again. She didn't know why she was running, she wasn't in much of a hurry, but it felt good to just run. Unfortunately, just at that moment, she closed her eyes, and who should she bump into but the last person in the world she wanted to see right now. They sort of toppled over each other before landing on the still dewy grass. She looked over at him with a shocked expression and then righted herself. He stood up quickly as well and dusted himself off.

"Great, now I'll have to buy a new set of robes, I have Weasley dirt on them." He snarled and turned to walk away. Not taking his attitude lightly, Ginny pulled out her wand and stood her ground.

"Hey Malfoy!" she shouted at his back and just as he turned around, she cast the most powerful Bat-Bogey hex she's ever done, and the things were flapping about his face like mad. He was shouting and trying to get rid of them in all kinds of ways, and with that, Ginny walked the rest of the way to the greenhouses, feeling quite content with herself.

Well all, I hope you liked the first chapter! I'm still currently working on the full storyline, although I have some good ideas. I'm not sure how the whole beta thing goes, but I think I may need one, so if you're interested, drop me a line! And everyone, review! I beg of thee!

Kitty


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